Ceredigion

The use of welsh changed substantially in Ceredigion between the last two censuses. At the same time there were changes in religion, health and marriage.

The population reached nearly 76,000

In the decade leading up to the most recent census, the population of Ceredigion increased by 1.3%, from about 74,900 to 75,900.

The addition of almost 1,000 people means this area's population increased at a slower rate than the total population of Wales (up 5.5% since the 2001 census).

In 2011, Ceredigion was home to, on average, 0.31 people per football pitch-sized piece of land. This made it Wales' second-least densely-populated district.

Population density was lower than the average across Wales

Population density (usual residents per football pitch-sized piece of land) across Wales, March 2011 (larger dots represent greater increase since 2001)

An older Ceredigion

Census 2011 data also show a change in the local population's average age.

Between the last two censuses, the median age of Ceredigion increased by two years, from 40 to 42 years.

This agricultural area had a higher average age than Canterbury (one of the most statistically similar areas to Ceredigion based on ONS area classifications) (39 years of age) and remained slightly older than the average local authority area across Wales (41 years of age).

The rise in age was because of an increase of about 2,200 people between the ages of 60 and 69 years, while the population between 30 and 39 years decreased by just under 2,000.

About 14% of people in Ceredigion are aged between 60 and 69 years

Percentage of usual residents in Wales, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion by 10 year age band, March 2001 and March 2011

Fall in proportion of Welsh speakers

The proportion of Welsh speakers in Ceredigion fell from 52% to 47% in the 10 years leading up to Census 2011.

This was the second-largest decline in the proportion of Welsh speakers of any local authority area in the country. Of the few areas where knowledge of the Welsh language increased, Monmouthshire saw the largest change (from 9.0% to 9.9%).

There are 2,808 fewer people living in Ceredigion who spoke Welsh compared with 2001, while the number of people who did not spoke Welsh increased by 3,771.

In Carmarthenshire (the local authority area that shares the largest boundary with Ceredigion), 44% of people over the age of three could speak some Welsh, down from 50% at the 2001 census. Across Wales, the proportion fell from 21% to 19%.

The proportion of people who could speak Welsh was higher than across Wales

Percentage of people aged three and over that said they could speak Welsh across local authority areas in Wales and the average across Wales, March 2011

Religion in Ceredigion

The number of people in Ceredigion that described themselves as having no religion increased from just under 15,000 in 2001 to about 23,000 in 2011. This represents a change from 20% to 31% of the local population.

The percentage increased by less than the average across Wales (from 19% to 32%).

The number of people in Ceredigion that described themselves as Christian decreased from about 53,000 in 2001 to about 44,000 in 2011 (from 71% to 58%). The number of people who did not disclose their religious affiliation increased from just under 6,000 to just over 6,700 (from 8.0% to 8.8%).

Just over 740 people (0.6%) said they identified with a religion other than Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism or Sikhism, up from about 460 in 2001 (1.0%).

There are many factors that can cause changes to the religious profile of an area, such as migration and varying fertility rates between religious groups. Changes may also be caused by differences in the way individuals choose to self-identify between censuses.

The population without a religion in Ceredigion increased by 11 percentage points

Percentage of usual residents in Wales, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion by religion, March 2001 and March 2011

More students

Ceredigion saw Wales' largest rise in the proportion of students.

During this period, Ceredigion overtook Cardiff to become the Wales local authority area with the highest percentage of students.

In 2011, just under 1 in 16 (6.2%) people aged 16 to 74 in Ceredigion said they were in education, compared with 3.9% in 2001. The percentage that were employed increased from 36% to 38%.

Gwynedd saw Wales' next largest rise in the proportion of students (from 2.5% to 4.2%).

The percentage of students in Ceredigion increased by 2.3 percentage points

Percentage of usual residents aged 16 to 74 in Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Wales that said they were in education, March 2001 and March 2011

More people worked short hours

Ceredigion saw Wales' largest rise in the proportion of people working less than 16 hours in a week.

Every local authority area across Wales saw a rise in the proportion of people working less than 16 hours in a week, as the regional average grew from 1.7% to 3.0%.

In 2011, just over 1 in 25 (4.5%) people aged 16 to 74 (in employment the week before the Census 2011) in Ceredigion said they had worked less than 16 hours the previous week, compared with 2.7% in 2001. The percentage that worked over 49 hours in a week decreased from 16% to 12%.

Swansea saw Wales' next largest rise in the proportion of people working less than 16 hours in a week (from 2.1% to 3.6%).

The proportion of people working less than 16 hours in a week in Ceredigion increased by 1.7 percentage points

Percentage of usual residents aged 16 to 74 (in employment the week before the Census 2011) in Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Wales that said they had worked less than 16 hours the week before completing the census, March 2001 and March 2011

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